It’s childhood classics and classic cinema that appear to be playing on the minds of the team at 2 Brothers. First up they've rebrewed their popular Clifford: The Big Red Double IPA, which returns at 8 percent ABV and with generous dry-hopping of Mosaic, Simcoe Galaxy and Amarillo. Pouring a deep copper colour, it's really on the chewier end of where a red IPA could sit, with a rich hit of toffee and a soft raisin note combining together before being balanced by Clifford's quite biting bitterness. It's not all malt flavours and bitterness at play though, with the hops also bringing forth quite a dank and heavy burst of pine and resin plus a soft touch of grapefruit.
Also coming in at 8 percent ABV is another entry in 2 Brothers' ChocTop series made with Classic and Lido cinemas, which follows on from the Boysenberry edition in 2020. This time it’s a Peppermint Choc Chip Porter and, having spent a lot of the last 18 months really missing the experience of being in a packed cinema, I think I can accurately say it's a beer that transports you into the seats of a busy screening.
Here, the peppermint swirls amid the dark chocolate flavours that leap from the beer's rich porter base and, given it's rather a decadent affair, it feels like one perfectly suiting both a cold winter night at home or being amongst a cheering crowd in a full theatre. But I'd take the latter any day, thanks.
Will Ziebell
Published July 6, 2021 2021-07-06 00:00:00
